Dewy's Adventure - hands-on

The disturbingly cheerful dewdrop drops in

Even though this Wii-exclusive title was just revealed a couple of months ago, we've already got two previews covering his wet 'n' wild exploits. Up until this point, it was a hands-off experience. Now we've spent a good while slipping and oozing around his sugary sweet universe and can clear up a few nagging little issues.

First, Dewy's a drop on the go. He certainly does like to glide around as you tilt the world with the remote, and as such can be a slick lil' maniac to control. Getting him to line up with jump pads and then land where you want him to land proved to be a might annoying. Everything else, like sliding off bridges or getting bumped off a tightrope by see-sawing blades, comes with the Super Monkey Ball territory. We expect those kinds of hazards, but minor platforming elements are a bit tough. Perhaps this'll be addressed before the game hits this fall.

His three forms - liquid, solid and gas - are used quite often and certainly do change up the gameplay. His water form is easiest to control, allowing us to slip around enemies and bop them once with his weakest attack. This form is also the only way you can free your captured buddies who populate each level - simply rolling over will set them free, and an end-of-level stat screen tells you how many you did or did not find. Similarly, each level has a few hidden bits that you'll only be able to find by exploring the various routes open to you. It kind of reminds us of the Genesis Sonic games in that it's totally linear yet you don't have to follow a set path to the end.

Dewy's gas form, the one that enables you to target multiple enemies with a lightning strike, is totally immobile but can be affected by wind gusts that you generate by shaking the remote. A few enemies can also eat Dewy in this form, so it's not like you can just float around zapping enemies forever. Also, the solid and gas forms can only be maintained for a limited amount of time before Dewy reverts back into his natural dewy self.